On the Republican side, the race has morphed into a high-stakes battle on Michigan soil between a decorated war veteran, native son and genial everyman competing.

On the Democratic side, party officials are urging residents to vote even though several candidates have taken their names off the ballot.

The three leading GOP candidates -- U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee -- have taken on a rapid-fire schedule of events scattered throughout the state.

They're focusing on issues tailored to Michigan's economic downturn in the hopes of capturing another victory. The results could make or break the Republican hopefuls, observers say.

Romney has the most to lose. Huckabee won the Iowa caucuses, and McCain won New Hampshire. Romney took a minor victory in Wyoming.

Former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani have yet to prevail in any state. Neither has actively campaigned in Michigan.

GOP candidates spar

Hundreds of jobs have left the Jackson area in recent years -- as of November, there were 5,800 unemployed people. And Michigan as a whole has as many unemployed job seekers as Republicans had voters in Iowa and New Hampshire combined, the Detroit Free Press reported Thursday.

It's expected that voters will express their frustration at the polls on Tuesday.

"First and foremost, it's the economy,'' said Rick Baxter, chairman of the Jackson County Republican Party, which hasn't endorsed a candidate. ``What are you as president going to do to help the economy?''

On that note, Republican candidates are doing what they can to distinguish themselves. In the South Carolina debate, for example, Romney took a jab at McCain, who won Michigan's 2000 GOP primary, for saying some jobs that have left Michigan are never coming back.

"I disagree,'' Romney said.

McCain shot back: "Let's have a little straight talk. There are some jobs that aren't coming back to Michigan.'' But the country is obligated to help displaced workers find employment, he said.

Huckabee's latest ad is directed at businessman Romney: "I believe most Americans want their next president to remind them of the guy who they work with, not the guy who laid them off,'' Huckabee says.

Each candidate has his own edge. Huckabee could have a following in Jackson County's evangelical faction. McCain, who spent five years as a prisoner in Vietnam, could appeal to veterans and their families. Romney was born in Michigan and his father was governor in the 1970s.

"It's going to be very fierce,'' said Bill Ballenger, editor of Inside Michigan Politics newsletter. "I expect them all to battle it out.''

Clinton vs. 'uncommitted'

What's not clear is whether many Democrats will cross over to the Republican primary. U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, who won in New Hampshire, is the only prominent Democratic candidate on the ballot.

Former U.S. Sen John Edwards of North Carolina, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who has since dropped out of the race, withdrew their names because Michigan moved up its primary election to compete with Iowa and New Hampshire.

The national party stripped Michigan of all its Democratic delegates, although U.S. Sen. Carl Levin says those delegates will be seated at the nominating convention.

Other voters could be disenfranchised because all the Democrats except Dennis Kucinich agreed not to campaign here.

The chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, Mark Brewer, is urging voters who don't see their preferred candidate on the ballot to vote "uncommitted."

On Tuesday, delegates will be watching to see whether Clinton loses to the "uncommitted'' votes.

A group of Albion College students, led by senior Catherine Fontana, is hoping Democratic voters don't throw up their hands in disgust and shrug off the primary.

"Every citizen has a right to cast an informed vote,'' said Fontana, former president of the Michigan Federation of College Democrats. "Citizens who are in favor of either Barack Obama or John Edwards can have a voice by voting uncommitted.''